I like to think of positive and negative experience pairs as the peak and trough of the same wave. Waves are disturbances rippling through an elastic medium. The nervous system feels like an elastic medium.

Peak and Trough Experiences at Different Energies

Subjective Energy Level

Peak Experience

Trough Experience

0

in breath

out breath

1

pleasant learning event

unpleasant learning event

2

pleasant social interaction

unpleasant social interaction

3

pleasant family event

unpleasant family event

4

pleasant work event

unpleasant work event

5

heavenly experience

hellish experience

6

birth

death

When the peaks and troughs have varying amplitudes, the set of experiences still seems to me to be along the same wave. There are lots of examples like this. Below is one with two cups of coffee after abstaining for a week.